I Found A Dream
by FaithinBones
Summary: At 8 years of age, Temperance Brennan dreamed of weddings and white dresses. At 15, these dreams were destroyed. Years later, she's found the one she loves and once again dreams of white dresses.


(After The Hole in the Heart and up to The Woman in White)

TLWtlw prompt: When Brennan said she had saved that wedding dress picture since she was eight, I could imagine little eight year old Tempe cutting the picture out of one of her Mom's magazines. Telling her mom and dad when she was that little what she wanted her wedding to be like. And her holding onto the picture even when she thought she didn't believe in love and marriage any more.

This isn't exactly the prompt. Sorry. My muse refused to cooperate.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Entering her apartment, Brennan placed her purse down on the table next to the entrance and closed the door as quietly as possible. Moving cautiously through the darkened living room, she walked over to her bedroom and looked in to the room. Not surprised, Brennan found Booth asleep in her bed. Their bed. Even though she had warned him that she would be very late, still he had insisted that he would stay the night with her and not go home to his lonely apartment. Smiling, she glanced at the clock in the bookcase and knew that Booth had probably given in and gone to bed around midnight. That it was now two in the morning, gave her pause. As someone in a new relationship, she would have to rethink just how long she was willing to work at the Lab.

Leaning against the doorframe, Brennan watched her boyfriend slumbering. His eye lashes fluttering and then still. His breathing quiet, his chest rising and falling in the quietness of the room.

Mesmerized, she studied her partner and realized that although she had been studying him for years, she now had an opportunity to learn new things about him. Listening to a catch in his breath and then the resumption of his easy breathing, she hugged herself and finally stepped back into the living room.

Walking over to her bookcase, she found the carved box she kept there and pulled it from the shelf. Holding the rosewood container, she carried it to the couch and sat down. Settling on the cushion, she glanced down at the carved box and opened the lid. Staring at the contents, she shook her head and pulled out the square of paper. Unfolding it, she studied the dress printed on the page and decided that she was being foolish. Shaking her head, she folded the magazine page and returned it back to the box.

Staring at the doorway leading to her bedroom, she sighed. Thinking about her future, she knew that marriage would never be part of that. She was grateful that her partner and now boyfriend understood that.

oooooooooooooooooo

Staring at Brennan, Booth brought up a subject that he felt was important, "What we need is one bed, one place, our place."

Puzzled Brennan asked, "I thought you said you'd never move in with someone again unless you were married?"

Curious, Booth asked, "Are you asking me to marry you?"

Shaking her head, Brennan protested, "What? Me? No, no. You're the one who believes in marriage. I'm not going to bring it up."

Smirking, Booth smiled, "Well, you just did."

Curious and perhaps just a little sad, Brennan asked, "Are you saying that you aren't going to ask me to marry you?"

Confident, Booth smiled, "You are going to ask me to marry you."

Shaking her head, Brennan informed Booth, "That's ridiculous."

Amused at the turn of the conversation and yet hopeful, Booth responded, "It's not ridiculous. It's gonna happen. I don't know when but when it does, the three of us should have a nice place where there's a. . . ."

Interrupted by the phone, Booth listened as he was told they have a case. "Booth, right, on our way."

Snatching Brennan's toast, Booth smiled, "We've got a murder." Popping the bread into his mouth, he hurried from the room to retrieve his pants.

Sighing, Brennan finished drinking her orange juice. Studying the now empty glass, she muttered, "I don't believe in marriage. I don't believe in anything that makes me the property of someone else."

Booth, hurrying back into the room, stopped, "Were you talking to me?"

Shaking her head, Brennan stepped down from the stool she'd been sitting on and turned towards Booth, "Are you happy?"

Surprised, Booth placed his arms around her shoulders and kissed her, "Of course I am. I couldn't be happier if I tried."

Returning his kiss, Brennan sighed, "I don't want to get married Booth."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth smiled, "It's alright Bones. Don't worry about it. I know who you are and I love you because of it not despite of it. Understand?"

Nodding her head, Brennan turned and returned to the bedroom to change clothes.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Watching Booth holding their newborn daughter, Brennan was overwhelmed with the look of love he had on his face. Turning to stare at her, he smiled and said, "She's beautiful, Bones. She looks just like you."

Shaking her head, Brennan smiled at the sight of the two people she loved so much. "It's too soon to tell what she will look like Booth. She's only a few hours old. Her eye color may change and it's possible her hair may darken to your shade."

Turning his gaze back to his new born child, Booth shook his head, "Nah, she looks like you Bones." Looking around the living room, he smiled, "I'm glad everyone came to see the baby but I'm going to tell you the truth, I'm glad they're gone."

Curious, Brennan moved the last casserole into the fridge and asked, "They're our friends. Don't you think what they did was nice? I do."

Walking over to where Brennan was standing, he leaned over and kissed her, "It was nice. I just want us to have a little peace. A little time to get used to being parents to this beautiful baby."

Nodding her head, Brennan moved her baby from Booth's arms to hers, "Yes, we're a family now. It's a big adjustment."

Placing his arm around her back, Booth shook his head, "We've been a family for quite awhile, Bones. Our daughter just made it a bigger family that's all. I love you and you were my family before the baby came."

Happy, Brennan stared at her daughter, "You're right, Booth. We are a family. It just goes to show you that we don't need a government sanctioned piece of paper to prove it."

Smiling sadly, Booth rubbed his upper lip, "That's right, Bones, we don't."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

They'd been apart for three achingly long months. Neither able to see or talk to each other. Their days filled with fear one minute and boredom the next. Their nights spent in longing for something, someone they couldn't have. Both of them hating the man who had trapped them in a web of intrigue. Plotting to find a way to prove that the web that had been woven around Brennan was woven from lies and innuendo.

Before she'd returned with their daughter, Brennan had feared that she'd closed a door that couldn't be reopened. When she'd finally talked to Booth, when they'd had a moment to themselves, he'd made it clear that he didn't blame her for running. He was happy that she was back. The man she trusted with her life had opened his arms and she'd tried to forget what had happened. She couldn't.

Being on the run from the law had affected her in more than ways that she cared to think of. Before she'd left her lover, she'd presumed that she was happy. After she came back, she feared that she wasn't. What she had thought of as a partnership, suddenly became more than that and she feared that. She'd been independent while away from Booth and when she came back, she mourned it's loss.

Their sadness over their separation turned into anger towards each other and they had argued. In a moment of clarity, Brennan realized that she needed help with her thoughts. She wanted to understand and to be fair to Booth, to try to see his side of things; so, she broke down a barrier she'd never realized was there. Talking to Sweets, she'd come to the conclusion that she was blaming Booth for loving her, for caring for her. As bizarre as that sounded, she was afraid that his happiness and love were too important to her and that she'd never have happiness without him. After returning home, she'd talked to him and though they'd left much unsaid, they'd said enough.

Later that night, in the arms of the man she truly loved, Brennan sighed, "When I was a child, I dreamed of being married. Most young girls do I suppose. Society puts a lot of pressure on them to find a suitable mate and reproduce."

Uncertain what he should say, Booth merely listened.

"Of course, as I grew to adulthood I came to realize that marriage is unnecessary in our society and really if you use us as an example, we're happy together. We complement each other and are strong because of that. We don't need a marriage license to prove how strong our ties are."

Sadly, Booth nodded his head, "Yeah, we belong to each other, Bones. I love you. You're my family and I love you."

Rubbing Booth's arm, Brennan leaned over and kissed him.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

She'd had an epiphany. She hadn't expected it but it had formed in her thoughts almost effortlessly. She wanted to get married to Booth. She didn't believe in marriage and still felt it was an antiquated ritual; but, Booth revered the institution of marriage. He believed in the sanctity of marriage and yet he was willing to live in sin with her to be with her. She's studied some of the Catholic teachings and she knew that Booth proved to her every day that he loved her by living with her outside the bonds of marriage.

She had always felt that love was ephemeral. She'd read of several studies that most relationships don't last past four years; but, she'd come to realize that she may have placed too much stock into those studies. Her relationship with her partner had already lasted for over seven years. True most of that time had been as friends; but, she knew that she had loved him longer than four years and she didn't think her love had lessened over that time. If anything her love had grown.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Walking from the Jeffersonian down the sidewalk, she heard the murmur of the small crowd sitting among the roses. Spying her father waiting for her at the junction of another sidewalk, Brennan smiled. Finally standing next to him, Brennan leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Staring at Brennan, Max felt a lump in his throat that he had a hard time swallowing. "You look so beautiful, Tempe."

Smiling, Brennan kissed his cheek again. "Dad, do you remember when I was eight years old and I showed you a picture of a wedding dress and told you that it was going to be the gown I wore on my wedding day?"

Nodding his head slowly, Max sighed, "I sure do baby. Showing me that gown made me realize that you were growing up and you wouldn't always be my baby girl. . . . You were such a dreamy little girl. Always making plans for the future. . . . I'm sorry I ruined your plans Honey. If I could redo it I would."

Shaking her head, Brennan placed her hand on his arm, "I didn't bring that up to make you sad, Dad. I brought it up to show you that sometimes dreams come true. Sometimes you get what you want even if you don't know what it is you want."

Hugging his daughter, Max sighed, "Listen, Baby. If you ever need me to kick his ass you let me know."

Laughing, the happy 'bride to be' stared in the distance towards the man standing on the dais waiting for her. "I love him, Dad. I never thought I'd ever say that about anyone; but, this man . . . I love him. When I met him, I found a dream."

Swallowing, Max held out his arm and waited for her to rest her hand on it, "Dreams do come true, Honey. Not all of them but sometimes the ones that are important to us and when we least expect it."

oooooooooooooooo

They're getting married. . . . Let me know what you think of my pre-wedding story. Thank you.

A/N: for those of you who are interested, I will post a new chapter of "Partners" tomorrow.


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